Health and Well-being of the Ukrainian Working-age Population

According to the research carried out by the Sociological Group "Rating" in December 2016, 45% of the respondents (males 18-65 and females 18-60 years old) considered their health to be good or very good, 43% – fair, 12% – poor or very poor.

Less than one-third (29%) of the respondents had chronic diseases whilst 71% did not. The majority (58%) of those who were chronically ill had one disease, 29% – two, 13% – three or more. The older the respondents, the worse their housing conditions, the lower their income, and the greater number of chronically ill people among them.

38% of the respondents visited a doctor last year while 62% did not. One-third of those who did go, visited the doctor once, 28% – twice, 16% – three times, 10% – four times, 15% – five or more times. Doctors’ visits were more frequent among older people, women, and urban citizens. In addition, the number of respondents who visited the doctor was higher among those who did not participate in any sport.

Last year, 11% stayed in hospital for treatment whereas 89% did not. Older people and those with low incomes received hospital treatment more often.

38% of the respondents reported that they smoked compared with 62% who did not. Among the latter, 23% had smoked in the past, and 77% never smoked. The highest number of those who smoked was in the East of the country (43%), the smallest – in the West (31%). There were three times as many male smokers as female smokers. The lowest income group contained the higher number of smokers.

Only 2% of the respondents reported that they consumed alcohol (including low-alcohol drinks such as beer) almost every day, 12% – a few times a week, 36% – a few times a month, 34% – a few times a year, 16% – none at all. The highest number of those who consumed alcohol fairly regularly was found in the Center of the country, the smallest – in the West. Males were found to consume twice as much alcohol as their female peers.

Only 9% of the respondents took part in sport almost every day, 15% – a few times a week, 14% – a few times a month, 12% – a few times a year whereas 50% of the respondents did not take part in any sport at all. Younger people, those with higher incomes and a higher education level were more inclined to participate in sport.

8% of the respondents felt sad and hopeless almost every day during the last month, 23% – a few times a week, almost half (44%) – a few times a month; at the same time, a quarter of the respondents stated that they had not felt melancholic or sad recently.

5% felt lonely almost every day during the last month, 12% – a few times a week, 28% – a few times a month, more than half (54%) had not felt lonely during the last month at all.

The older the respondents, the lower their social status, self-reported health, sense of control over their lives, life satisfaction level, and the higher the frequency of negative emotions.

Respondents: the working-age population of Ukraine – males aged 18-65, females aged 18-60.The sample is split up into various categories: age, gender, region, and place of residence. Total: 1580 respondents. Face-to-face formalized interviews. The margin of error does not exceed 2.5%. Period of the survey: 1-10 December 2016